Firstpost Spodcast Episode 205: BCCI keep close eye on on Kedar Jadhav's recovery, Antoine Griezmann to leave Atletico Madrid and more

As the Indian cricket team gets ready for the 2019 World Cup that starts on 30 May, the BCCI is keeping an eye on Kedar Jadhav’s fitness, and will likely take a call on his participation next week. That decision could even be announced on the day the Indian team is scheduled to depart for the United Kingdom. A BCCI source told CricketNext, “The…national selectors have been kept apprised of Jadhav’s recovery process on a day-to-day basis… It’s too early to say whether Jadhav will be fit enough to take part in the tournament but (a) call on that will be taken next week, probably as late as the departure date of the Indian team which is May 22.” In news from Indian football, Croatian Igor Stimac was yesterday appointed head coach of the Indian football team for a two-year term. The national team has been without a coach since the departure of Stephen Constantine in January, following the creditable show at the AFC Asian Cup. 51-year-old Stimac, who was part of Croatia’s 1998 World Cup squad that finished third in France, comes with an experience of over 18 years in coaching, structuring, and developing football and players back home, and internationally. He was also a part of the squad, which qualified for the quarterfinals of the UEFA European Championship 1996, and, in his younger days, he was part of Yugoslavia U-19 national team that won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 1987. As a coach, Stimac’s crowning achievement was Croatia’s qualification for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. During his tenure as the national coach of Croatia, he handed debuts to the likes of Mateo Kovacic, Ante Rebic, Alen Halilovic, and Ivan Perisic, amongst others. His last assignment was with Al-Shahania Club in Qatar. Stimac’s very first assignment will be the Kings Cup in Thailand where the Blue Tigers take on Curacao in their first match on 5 June. In other football news, French striker Antoine Griezmann has told Atletico Madrid he will leave them in the close season. 28-year-old Griezmann has a contract until 2023 with Atletico, but has a buyout clause of 120million euros ($134million) and has been the target of several approaches from La Liga rivals Barcelona. Atletico’s official Twitter feed had a message that said, “Antoine Griezmann has told the club he will not continue as a Rojiblanco (red and white, the club’s colours) next season.” In hockey, The Indian men’s team were blanked 0-4 by World No 2 Australia in the fourth match of their tour Down Under. Blake Govers and Jeremy Hayward scored a brace each for the hosts thrashed the visitors easily. After remaining unbeaten in their first three matches of the tour, World No 5 India were handed a lesson in hockey by the Kookaburras. India started the match well as they pressed Australia higher up the field, but were dealt two successive blows within a span of five minutes. Seconds from the first quarter Australia secured their first penalty corner, which resulted in a penalty stroke for the hosts and Govers made no mistake from the set piece. Then, five minutes into the second quarter, Australia earned back-to-back penalty corners and the second chance saw Hayward beautifully flick the ball low into the right side of goal past India goalkeeper Krishan Bahadur Pathak to make it 2-0 20 minutes into the game.